SMU basketball sees $350 000 in beer and wine sales

Southern Methodist University sold nearly $350,000 in beer and wine at basketball games last season, far outpacing sales for other concessions, according to state and university records.

The boost in sales from beer and wine suggests SMU could see sizable increases in revenue when it expands sales this fall to football games at Ford Stadium.

SMU began offering alcoholic beverages to the general public at men’s basketball games in January when it reopened the renovated Moody Coliseum. Concession stands sold beer and wine at 13 games. Beer cost $6 or $8, wine $6.

The $350,000 is for gross sales, according to the state comptroller’s office. An unknown portion of those sales goes to Aramark, the SMU vendor. The beer and wine sales made up more than half the $650,000 in food and other concessions sold at the games, said SMU athletic spokesman Brad Sutton.

The university plans to kick off beer sales in Ford Stadium concourses at the first home game on Sept. 20 against Texas A&M. Alcoholic beverages are already available in stadium suites.

SMU’s football tradition includes alcohol outside of the stadium. Before each home game, fans gather under large tents in red-and-blue Mustang gear for tailgating events known as “Boulevarding.”

Ford Stadium will provide far more potential customers than Moody Coliseum. The stadium holds 32,000 people, more than four times the 7,000 capacity at the coliseum.

SMU is one of several universities looking to beer and wine sales as a way to make money and fill seats. Starting this fall, the University of North Texas will also sell beer to the general public at its football stadium. It previously sold beer in the stadium’s club and suite levels.


more on dallasnews.com